Tag Archives: POSCAP polymer capacitors

Nuremberg, Germany – 4 March 2019 — Future Electronics, a global leading distributor of electronic components, today introduced SPINnaker, a motor control daughter board for low cost SPACE-Vector-Modulation build for the STMicroelectronics Nucleo-8S208RB kit, a development platform for the STM8S series of low-cost 8-bit microcontrollers board.

It is supplied with an intuitive PC Graphical User Interface (GUI) to support motor control project development.

Future Electronics is demonstrating the SPINnaker board at its stand Hall 3.225 at the Embedded World exhibition (Nuremberg, 26-28 February 2019).

The SPINnaker daughterboard is the ideal rapid prototyping platform for space vector modulation motor control applications based on the use of an 8-bit MCU. Applications in the automotive, industrial, consumer and home automation sectors can all take advantage of the ready-made capabilities of the SPINnaker board and its software. The final customer solution is rated for operation at temperatures up to 150°C.

The SPINnaker board implements the space vector modulation (SVM) method of motor control, a technique which is usually not suited to 8-bit MCUs. The motor control software running on the STM8S MCU occupies a small Flash memory footprint of less than 8kbytes and requires less than 1.5kbytes of RAM. It includes a unique algorithm for speed control and flux reduction, and controls motor position at a resolution of 384 steps per revolution.

Compared to block commutation, SVM offers valuable advantages including low acoustic noise and no torque ripple. These advantages are usually available for a higher system cost.

The SPINnaker design implements a low-cost, three-phase power stage composed of six 60V STL20N6F7 MOSFETs from STMicroelectronics. SPINnaker itself runs with up to 24V.

It also includes a USB Type-C power supply controlled by an STMicroelectronics STUSB4500, and a Panasonic supercapacitor-based back-up power supply to provide for safe shut-down in the case of an unexpected power failure. In addition, the SPINnaker board’s Panasonic POSCAP polymer capacitors demonstrate the superior characteristics of this device type in an application that would traditionally use multi-layer ceramic capacitors.

The board’s metal composite inductors, from the Panasonic ETPQ series and the IHLP series from Vishay, have a small board footprint and offer excellent DC current saturation and temperature stability characteristics.

Etienne Lanoy, Director of the Future Electronics Centres of Excellence, said: ‘There are numerous motor-control development boards available for designers working in a 32-bit MCU environment, but precise motor-control schemes implemented on an 8-bit MCU have been much harder to find. Future Electronics’ development of the SPINnaker board now puts this right, providing a ready-made implementation of space vector modulation on the popular STM8S series of MCUs.’

The SPINnaker development board will be available in Q2 2019 free of charge to qualified customers of Future Electronics. The board is supplied with hardware and software design files and a PC GUI.

To apply for a board or to request more information, contact any branch of Future Electronics or visit www.my-boardclub.com.

About Future Electronics

Future Electronics is a global leader in electronics distribution, recognized for providing customers with global supply chain solutions, custom-tailored engineering services and a comprehensive suite of passives and semiconductor products. Founded by Robert Miller in 1968, Future Electronics has over 5,500 employees and operates in 169 offices in 44 countries around the world. Future Electronics is globally integrated, with a unified IT infrastructure that delivers real-time inventory availability and access to customers. With the highest level of service, the most advanced engineering capabilities, and the largest available-to-sell inventory in the world, Future’s mission is always to Delight the Customer®. For more information, visit www.FutureElectronics.com.